The Philippine Navy decommissioned the last of its World War II-era warships and one of the oldest naval ships in the world still in service, PS-11 Rajah Humabon, after four decades of service, according to a report by Philippines News Agency, Sputnik reported.

"They turned sentimental because the ship that had given them pride and accomplishments when they served as commanding officers is now going to retire from service," Philippine Fleet spokesman Lt. Sahirul Taib told Inquirer.net.

The ship had been commissioned on August 29, 1943, as US Navy destroyer escort USS Atherton, and had patrolled the Atlantic during the war. In 1945, the US Navy decommissioned the ship and in 1955 transferred it to the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. The ship served in Japan for 20 years, after which it was technically returned to US Navy in 1975 while physically remaining in Japan. One year later, the ship was transferred to the Phillipines Navy, after an extensive refit in South Korea.